A mind watching a politics programme the other week on the tele and they were aw talkin about how we need to be wary of taking information on social media too literally.
They were sayin hings like ‘aw Twitter isny a representation of what people are actually hinkin’
A couldny help but think aye that would suit yous right to a tee eh. People dismissing aw the ruthless scrutiny politicians get on a platform that levels the playing field in terms of people’s voice.
Cos we’re no just fed our dinner now. Folk go on about how polarised social media becomes wi aw these algorithms n that but we’re actually better read than we were before. It exposes us to far more information and, because of that, yer also seeing more across the ideological spectrum. No even talkin out my bottle either, heavy studies show exactly that.
It’s quite an interesting wee take there then eh… ‘let's be sceptical of Twitter’ when aw them pure sook Twitter.
Some ae you might be hinkin right relax, they were probably just gesturing at the dangers of having trials by social media… but I always think the same thing about MPs on the tele as I do watching films.
Nothing on screen in a film is done without reason. There is a story and certain thinking behind every wee hing, especially when the higher end of folk in show biz are daein it.
A certain look between actors. A prop lying about on the flare. A word that’s used. Aw these wee hings are on screen because of a thought process the director hus aboot the way it should look… unless the film’s pure cooncil, of course.
But aye, when it comes to politics and you’ve got someone representing such a massive party like UK Labour or Conservative, you’d be daft to hink these folk areny set some sortae script for television appearances. When you see several folk going on about Boris Johnson ‘getting the big calls right,’ or how he oversaw the ‘fastest vaccine rollout’ and ‘got Brexit done’… this isny a coincidence.
Or north of the border when folk fae the SNP spout out the same facts about how great Scotland is or how much ae a dobber Boris Johnson is… someone who, ironically, FM Nicola Sturgeon has been emulating in FMQs of late. Relentless pressure from Ross and Sawar on things like the record-breaking NHS waiting times has seen Sturgeon say they’re ‘getting on wi the job’ in the same Churchill-like gusto Boris has been deain it wi. & I’ve heard it echoed from some of her colleagues. I had to rub my eyes when I was watching it… couldny tell if it was a master stroke getting Johnson (a hugely unpopular figure in Scotland) to pop into the minds of everyone watching or if she’d actually just run out of ideas. Echoes from her colleagues would suggest the latter.
So aye, when I was hearing the urging of scepticism towards Twitter a few weeks ago, I couldny help but hink… wonder what the director is thinking there?
This came fae politicians down south, so a lot of you might be hinkin it's no a coincidence they’re saying ‘get yer eyes back on the tele’ whilst there’s a leadership race to be the next Prime Minister. Patch aw that hostile social media content bound to gee you the fear and feast yer eyes on some of the regulated stuff. That’ll renew some confidence in those running the country… aw at a time where yer getting strikes right up and down the UK.
Conjecture, of course, but you get the point.
In a similar vein, the SNP has come under fire after the release of their second independence paper.
The paper talks about the “democratic deficit” that Scotland endures as part of the UK. One of the obvious triggers of popularity towards another referendum is Brexit. Scotland was promised EU membership if they voted to stay in the Union and within a Parliamentary term of making this decision they were taken out of the EU against their will… it is fine and well to outline the independence-specific examples but she was accused of more or less using the platform to lay intae the Tories and Labour. Although it’s relevant both parties intend on sticking by Brexit, media appearances about a referendum… outside the realm of party politics… using public money… should surely be non-partisan.
Perhaps the SNP are attempting to make up for a playing field they’ve in the past been sceptical about being level. Former FM Alex Salmond famously fell out with Nick Robinson cos ae his reporting during the 2014 referendum. Since which he admitted to having “regretted in part.”
This was brought up in the Scottish Parliament the other week… Alex Cole-Hamilton criticised the SNP for crying bias when it suits them. Angus Robertson replied: “I’m sorry to say that I don’t think – and I’m speaking as somebody who is an incredibly strong supporter of the BBC – that it stood up to its high standards of impartiality during that time”
It’s a tricky yin cos everything’s subjective. A lot of people will hink the decision for our new Prime Minister should be all anyone’s talking about… Pro-independence folk will be sayin hud on… how come I couldny get Sturgeon’s press conference on mainstream tele? How come the BBC are focussing on the Conservatives?
Food for thought… but thought that all emphasises the importance of regular people having a voice anaw.
If that’s on Twitter, so be it.
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